
Strange People on the Hill
How Extremism Tore Apart a Small American Town
$49.76
- Hardcover
320 pages
- Release Date
2 June 2026
Summary
A gripping story that reveals what happened to a small American town when an influential white nationalist group relocated its headquarters there, illustrating how radical changes in American politics impact our psyches and divide our communities
When the white nationalist group VDARE used dark money to purchase a historic castle overlooking Berkeley Springs in West Virginia, America’s “cold civil war” spilled into this scenic tourist town.
From behind the imposing stone walls…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781645030607 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1645030601 |
| Author: | Michael Edison Hayden |
| Publisher: | Bold Type Books |
| Imprint: | Bold Type Books |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 320 |
| Release Date: | 2 June 2026 |
| Weight: | 500g |
| Dimensions: | 238mm x 158mm x 32mm |
What They're Saying
Critics Review
“Deeply personal, disturbing, and intense, this meticulously documented account is an urgent call to action.”–Booklist“A captivating, unsettling up-close look at America’s increasingly vicious partisan split.”–Publishers Weekly“A brave book that lays bare the grim reality of our times: the fascist tide that threatens to drown us all, the pernicious role of extreme wealth, and the hubris-fed failure of the institutions that we have all relied on as guardrails of our democracy. Most of all, it exposes the unbearable weight borne by the people who are fighting against that tide and the high price they pay. An utterly riveting and heartbreaking read.”–David Neiwert, author of The Age of Insurrection“A truly remarkable achievement. One of the most intimate, gripping journalistic accounts to date of this fascist moment in our politics. A deeply reported, and deeply American, descent into madness, chronicling a small town at war with itself, and a writer coming undone as he grapples with what that war means for the future of his country. Strange People on the Hill is a rare and brave book, not only for the evil it boldly confronts, but for the confessional honesty of its author, who throws himself into darkness to help show us all how to find the light.”–Christopher Mathias, author of To Catch a Fascist“Strange People on the Hill chronicles an America in flux, as a small town is thrown into chaos by the arrival of a notorious white nationalist family. Michael Edison Hayden has written an admirably candid and remarkably intimate account of the toll that extremism exacts on ordinary people–not least on the author himself.”–J.M. Berger, author of Extremism“Michael Edison Hayden has written a harrowing account of how extremist forces can infiltrate communities–and how new networks of solidarity and defense of the truth can emerge to resist them. A timely and engagingly written account by an expert on extremism and hate groups.”–Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of history and Italian studies at New York University and author of Strongmen“Michael Hayden is one of the leading reporters covering far-right extremism in America, and he’s got the scars to prove it. Now, in Strange People on the Hill, he’s written a gripping thriller about a white supremacist takeover of a small town–a battle over a castle, and the heart of America itself.”–Will Sommer, author of Trust the Plan
About The Author
Michael Edison Hayden
Michael Edison Hayden is an investigative reporter and a leading expert on far-right extremism. As a reporter, he broke some of the biggest stories on the radical right over the last decade, and his analyses—featured in outlets like NPR, MSNBC, and CNN—helped shape perspectives on the authoritarian, anti-democracy movement that took over the Republican Party. He resides in New York.
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